Wednesday, January 22, 2025

[SCOOP] New York Ice Cream Shop to Enter Atlanta Market in Southern Push

New York's Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has Georgia on its mind.  According to recently filed permits as well as updated leasing materials, the growing ice cream company has two locations in the immediate Atlanta pipeline with a source telling ToNeTo Atlanta that several others are in the works.  

Upcoming Van Leeuwen at Park Place in Dunwoody 

One shop, planned for a newly completed portion of Ponce City Market, is coming to a 1,190 square foot space behind Pottery Barn, facing the courtyard of Scout Living (the new short and extended stay residence building), across from West Elm.  This shop is expected to be the first in metro Atlanta to open and is currently targeting a late spring debut, according to a source familiar with the plans. 

A second location is planned for Park Place in Dunwoody where the ice cream purveyor will open in the former Allen Edmonds space.  The upscale men's shoe retailer vacated their 1,389 square foot space in Park Place in 2024 when they relocated to the new High Street project nearby.  In Park Place, Van Leeuwen will overlook the new greenspace and is expected to be joined by several other new tenants with Pepper Boxing already confirmed by the newly updated site plan.      

Van Leeuwen began as a food truck in New York City in 2008 between Pete Van Leeuwen, his brother Ben, and their partner Laura O'Neill.  In 2010 the trio opened their first shop in a 180 square foot storefront that was part of a nightclub then called Manhattan Inn, which was walking distance from where they lived in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.  

In the years since, the partners have grown significantly with a retail presence in stores like Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods Market, The Fresh Market, Kroger and Walmart, as well more than 70 scoop shops in eight states plus Washington D.C., with several more in new and existing markets in the works.  In addition to Atlanta, Van Leeuwen also plans to open new scoop shops in Charlotte (1), Nashville (1) and South Florida (4), according to their newly updated website.  

For those unfamiliar, Van Leeuwen offers traditional and vegan ice cream scoops, bars and sandwiches.  According to the company's website, scoop shops tend to offer "ice cream and vegan ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, cookie sandwiches, sundaes and milkshakes."  

The company is perhaps most well known for its "limited edition" collaborations with Kraft on the release of a Mac & Cheese flavor and Clorox on the release of a Hidden Valley Ranch flavor, among others.  The company has also released several other funky flavors such as Pizza, King Cake, Glass Onion, Planet Earth, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Hot Honey, and Royal Wedding Cake.  

Van Leeuwen's entry into Atlanta follows the recent market debut of Youngstown, Ohio-based Handel's, another ice cream shop, which in recent months has opened locations in Midtown, Cumming and Buckhead.  

Van Leeuwen's most direct competition is likely Jeni's Ice Creams, the Columbus, Ohio-based ice cream purveyor which has a more than ten year head start in the market having opened at Westside Provisions District in October 2013.  Today, Jeni's has ten locations across metro Atlanta, with an eleventh planned for later this year in Marietta, plus one in Athens.  

Have you tried any of Van Leeuwen's standard or "limited edition" flavors?  Are you excited about the upcoming opening of Van Leeuwen in metro Atlanta?  Who do you think currently offers the best overall ice cream? 

Please share your thoughts below. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder how they will do considering there is already Honeysuckle Gelato at Ponce.

Anonymous said...

I was in the Edmonds space last week, wooee it smells like feet in there. I hope they de stink it

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